Relay with sequentially operated switches



July 8, 1952 A. w. VINCENT 2,602,867

RELAY WITH SEQUENTIALLY OPERATED SWITCHES Filed Feb. 1-5, 1946 IN V ENTOR. fl/vomswuc v/lvcawr JXM 197' 7' OR/VE Y Patented July 8, 1952 RELAYwrrn SEQUENTIALLY OPERATED s-wrronss Andrew W. Vincent, Rochester, N.Y.,-assignors to Stromberg-Garlson Company,, a corporation of New YorkApplication February 15, 1946, Serial No. 647,890

This is a continuation in part.- of my copending application for UnitedStates.Patent,, Serial No. 506,606, filed October 16,. 1943, now PatentNo. 2,461,360, dated February- 8, 1949, ;and;as-- signed to the sameassignee as the present invention.

This invention relates to. relays. and'thelike and, moreiparticulailyto" relays especially adapted for. use in telephone systems.

It is an object: of my invention to provide a relay which is relativelyeasy: to -manufacture, which can "be quickly: adiusted and. whichchas ahighdegree; of stability in'operation.

It is another objector. my'inventionto pro,-'

vide; a. relay: ofthe type having-a spring con.- tact. assemblycomprisingpositively spaced, relativelyfixed, contact springs andpositive means for directing *thexmomble spring contacts into circuitclosing "engagementwith the. fixed contact. springs; I

n is still another object of my invention .to'

provide a'relay of the type. having a =fixed--,contact spring assemblycomprising relatively-fixed and relatively movable contactv springsandalso. an auxiliary contact assembly, the: relay being; so assembled thatthe first mentioned-contactspring assembly imposes no load. on the armature until after operation of the. auxiliary contact spring assembly,thereby providing a relay of rapid and positive action.

Another object of. my invention is toprovide a relay-comprising a springcontact'assembly including: one or more fixed contact springs and.

one or more movable contact springs, the mov-- able contact springsbeing biased inone direc ticn and also having means? associatedwith themovable contact spring'or springsfor normally restraining movement ofthe movable: springs until the. armature operates to release. therestraining force;

It is a further object of my invention to proprinciplesof my invention;Fig. 2'is aside ele-- 4. Claims; (01. 200-1 4) 'vation of: the. relayshown 1; Fig. an a.

right-hand view of the: relay shown in Figs. 1 and 2; and Fig. 4' is afragmentary,. exploded. perspective view of. the relay shown in theother figuresof the. drawing.

- Inthe there is shown a relay embodying the. principle'swof myinvention including an-energizingcoil l which is removably secured on asuitable core 2: ofmagnetic material. Thel'co'il l' 'may befwoundtonaspool". of insulating material of. which only the endplates. 3and-tare'visible. or--itzvmayibe wound directly on the core. 2: in whichcase the-insulating'plates 3 and 4 may be mounted; directly on' the corein order to position'the "coil; There is? provided an 'L -shape.d frame:a-df magnetie material. ha

ing azshort portion 6. mounted on theleft. end

of the: core as viewed in Fig; 2 "having its: long portion 1 extendinglongitudinally of the: coil i and being substantially equal in length.to: the core: and also extending in. spaced parallel i relationship tothe ri'gh t-emit-thereof, 'I'heframe may be. mo1mted. on the-' core inany suitable.

manner as; for example, .byathreaded' member 8. Portion-'I-of the frameliasits: free end ma:-

chined to: provide a corner or hearing 9 on which the inner corner {0 ofan angular or folded armature II can rock. This armature has a part l2adapted to move toward and away from the head of core 2 and has a partl3. which extends generally in the direction of part I of the frame: andapproximately at right angles with respect to partlz. As shown in I and4 the center of the part i3 of the armature is punched out as indicatedby the numeral l4 to accommodate armature retaining means; There iswelded or otherwisesuitably fastened to the end portion 1 of the frame aspring latch i5, preferably of non-magnetic material,extending'generally'lengthwise of the frame. Thislatch has a lip: 16.that fits over corner "of the opening in the "armature. Thislatchiresiliently holds the armature on the end' of the frame and yetthe armature can be readily disengaged from the frame by moving thearmature toward the right as viewed in Fig. 2', for example. In order-toinsure that the spring latch will not be sprung beyond its elasticlimit, the latch is provided with a stop comprising strip- 18 having oneend of the latch. 'Ihexfree end .of the strip is. formed into anupstanding portion I8 having laterally projecting lugs 20 in. a positionto'limit the-up that the armature rocks on a line bearing.

It is frequently desirable to adjustthe air gap of the armature and forthis purpose there is provided a generally U-shaped piece 2| having legs22 folded to conform generally=to the angular shape of the armature.The-ends 23 of these legs are bent to extend through or hook intonotches 24 in the armature where they engage the underside of thearmature portion [3. A screw 25 is threaded into the armature portion [2so that by loosening or tightening this screw the angularity of thearmature and, therefore, the air gap between the armature and the endof.the core may be changed at will. Locking means such as the lock nut 26may be used to retain the screw 25 in the desired position.The-arrangement of the armature andframe and the relation of theparts-described above are disclosedand claimedin the above identifiedcopending application. :.=The"armature: in the course of its rockingmovementchanges the relation between certain of bthe" contacts of acontact spring assembly. The c ontactspring assembly. as illustratedherein,'.'coniprises arr elongated mounting plate 21 adaptedrtobe-s'ecuredas by screws to the top portion al of the frame; On thismounting plate there-is" secured a stack of contact spring sets,although it willbe understood that my invention is "not limited to thisarrangement since one or'more'stacks may be used. Each stack offspringscomprises a plurality of relatively fixed or'istationary'contact springs28 andrelative'ly movable or armature springs 29. These springs attheir. left ends as viewed in the drawing are separated fromeach otherand the. mounting plate by strips of insulation 30, the strips ofinsulation and the contact springs-being secured to the mountingxplateby a suitable clamping plate 3! and suitable fastening members 32 suchas bolts having threaded engagement with tapped openings in plate 21.The right hand or free end of the clamping plate 31 is maintainedexactly spaced from the relay frame by a spacing sleeve 33, a-bolt 34passing through an open ing -ina lug'or projection of the mounting plate3| and the sleeve 33 into threaded engagement with suitable openingsinportion 1 of the frame, therebysecuring the several parts in position.

It-- is--important' that thestationary springs maintain a predeterminedspace relationship therebetween and that all of the armature or movablesprings have a likemotion so that uniform'contact pressures can bemaintained at the various springs of the stack. There is providedfor-this purpose an insulated spring stop 36 preferably made of a stripof insulating material, such as a phenolic material, and provided withparts having predetermined spacing therebetween,.such as a series ofdownwardly directed hooks 31. one hook or part being provided foreachstationary contact spring. The stop strip 36 extends throughvertically aligned openings 43 through all the springs of the stack andits upper end engages an extension 38 of the clamp: ing plate 3-1, 'thisextension being adapted-to be bent upward or downward in the course ofadjustment of the relay to locate the free ends of the stationarysprings in the desired position. The downwardly directed hooks orportions 31 are adapted to extend into openings 39 and, hence, engagethe bridges 40 on the stationary contact springs. Sincethaupper end ofthe strip 35 engages the extension 38 of the clamping plate which ispositively located by sleeve 33 and fastening means 34, and since thehooks on the strip are a predetermined distance apart, the up- ;ward ordownward adjustment of the extension on the clamping plate causes acorresponding movement ofthe stationary contact springs, and the spacein'between these springs will always be maintained uniformly. Thearmature or mov 'able springs 29 partake of the rocking movement of thefree end of the portion of the armature through engagement of portion 13of the armature and the rounded portion 4! at the bottom end of a pusheror operating member 42 which extends upwardly through vertically alignedopenings in the various spring contact members such as the openings 43in the fixed springs and openings in the movable springs. The pusher 42is likewise insulated and is preferably made of a strip 'of insulatedmaterial such as a suitable phenolic. The upper end of the pusher member42 extends through an opening 45 in theclampe ing plate 3!. This stripor-member 42 is likewise provided with a series of parts having apredetermined spaced relationship such as hooks or portions 46 whichextend upwardly in the illustrated form of my invention to engagebridges 41 on the movable springs, thereby serving vto move the armatureor movable springs upwardly into engagement with the stationary springswhen actuated by the armature. In order to re-' store the pusher to itsunoperated position, there is provided a biasing or restoring mem; ber'55. a

Insome applications where relays such as those descri-bed'herein areemployed, it may be desirable to-have an auxiliary contact spring'set-orperhaps a set comprising a plurality of contact spring members tooperate before operation of the main contact spring assembly. Forexample,

it may be desired to cut out a finder switch asrapidly as possible afterthe finding of a calling line in a telephone system.

In the drawing there is illustrated an additional spring assembly andoperating mechanism therefor which will accomplish the desired purpose.There is shown a relatively fixed spring 50 which can be identical tothe fixed springs 28."

There is also provided a relatively movable spring 51 which is preset toprovide a bias for the spring contact member into engagement with fixedspring 59. This spring-5| is shown split to pro-' vide a short portion52, the purpose of which will be explained below, and a contact bearingportion 53. In order to permit operation independently of the mainstack, cross-piece or bridge 41 is omitted from the spring 5|.

Means is provided for normally restraining the movable spring frommoving to circuit closing position with respect to spring 50 'when therelay is tie-energized. For this purpose there is pro vided an insulatedoperating member 54, preferably a strip of insulating material such as asuitable phenolic having an extended-portion suitably disposed andpositioned to engage the' contact bearing movable portion 53 ofspring'5'l in such a way as to counteract the normal bias of the spring.In the illustrated embodiment of my invention-this pqrtion terminates ina hook 54a whichextendsbeyondthe end of'the movable spring portion 53;then-upwardly and. then rearwardly above an. offset portion 5 6; of. theportion 53 as. indicated by the-dashed linesin Fig. 4.

In. order to support the operating member- 54 in its operative positionthevbiasing' or restoring member 55 for pusher 42 is provided with anarm 55:; having transversely extended portions or cars 51 arranged toextend through openings 58 in the member 54*. The portions '51 may betwisted to secure the member 54-. The member 54 is provided on the upperedge thereof with a generally rounded portion 59, which in the assembledposition of the relay engages the underside of spring portion 52which'exercises a downward restoringpressure against the-operatingmember 54; which operates through the hooked portion 54a of. the member54 to restrain the movable spring: 51..v

In order. to remove. the restraint: and to permit the movement of spring5|. into circuit closing engagement with spring 58; the member 54. isprovided. onits lower edge with asuitablyshaped portion 60: adapted for.engagement by the armature. in its. rocking motion.

Means is provided for preventing loading of the armature by eitherspring assembly during the de-energized' condition of the relay. Forthis purpose there is. provided a.- suitable portion of the framesuch-as a stop. member 6| secured in suitable fashion to, orconstituting an integral portion of the upper surface of the frame I,and being-arranged to engage the'pusher 42 as at the relatively flatportion 62- of the operating member 42 and as at the step-like portion53 of member '54 in the de-energized position of the relay. As best seenin Fig. 2, the stop member 6| is elevated in the vertical direction withrespect to the portion l4 of the armature. Furthermore, the roundedportion 60 of operating member 54 extends below the similarly roundedportion 4| of the pusher 42. Accordingly, during energization of therelay, the armature first engages the operating member 54 to permitengagement between springs 50 and 5 l, later in the travel of thearmature the hooked portion of the operating member is elevated beyondengagement with the spring portion 53 thereby relieving all load on theauxiliary contacts except that created by the bias of the spring portion53, and still later in point of time, the armature portion l3 engagesthe portion 4| of the pusher to cause operation of the main contactspring assembly. Upon de-energization of the relay, the bias, if any, ofthe movable springs and the bias of restoring member 55 causesrestoration of the main assembly while bias of arm 52 causes restorationof the auxiliary assembly.

While I have shown and described a particular embodiment of myinvention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changesand modifications may be made without departing from my invention in itsbroader aspects. For example, the operating member 54 is supported on arelatively resilient arm 55a so that the assembly acts as a hinge and anon-flexible beam. The same operation may be secured by using anoperating member suitably pivoted to a non-resilient member. Theinsulating members 36, 42, and 54 need not be of solid insulation.Moreover, the principles of my invention are equally applicable to aone-step relay in which one set of contact springs operate before theother set and to a twostep or differential relay in which the armature rthe flow of current through said coil, 2. first conmoves sufiiciently toactuate. one set of spring contacts. in.one condition and goes on toactuate the second set of contacts in a second condition. I, therefore,aim in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modificationsas fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

The. specific switch blade structure, operating member, and stops forthe stationary switch blades are described and claimed in my divisionalapplication Serial No. 270,026., filed February 1, 1,952. The specificadjustment means is. decribed and claimed indivisional applicationSerial No. 270,027, filed February 1, 1952.

What. I claim is:

1. In a relay of the type including a frame, a coil carried by saidframe, an armature mounted on said frame and actuated in accordance withthe flow of current through said coil, a first con-- tact springassembly carried by said frame for operation by complete movement ofsaid armature, said spring-assembly comprising a pluralityof relativelyfixed and movable springs, insulatedmeans having spaced parts engagingsaid movable springs and being arranged to be actuateddirectly by saidarmature to move said: movable springs into. engagement with said fixedsprings, and a second contact spring assembly carried by said frame foroperation by partial movement of said armature, said second assemblycomprising a fixed spring and a movable spring biased toward apredetermined position with respect tosaidfixed spring, and movableholdin means engaging andrestraining movement of said. movable springwhen said coil is de-energized, the combination therewith of meansfor-removing such restraint and permitting such movement upon partialmovement of said armature, and means for preventing loading of saidarmature by either set of springs when said relay is de-energized.

2. In a relay of the type including a frame, a coil carried by saidframe, an armature mounted on said frame and actuated in accordance withtact spring assembly carried by said frame for operation by completeoperation of said armature, said spring assembly comprising a pluralityof relatively fixed and movable springs, insulated means having spacedparts engaging said movable springs and arranged to be actuated directlyby said armature to move said movable springs into engagement with saidfixed springs, a second contact spring assembly carried by said framefor operation by partial movement of said armature, said second assemblycomprising a fixed spring and a movable spring, and movable holdingmeans engaging and restraining movement of said movable spring when saidcoil is deenergized, the combination therewith of means for removingsuch restraint and permitting such movement upon partial movement ofsaid armature, said insulated means also being constructed to engage aportion of said frame in the deenergized position of said armature andduring partial movement thereof whereby no load is applied by said firstspring assembly to said armature in its de-energized condition andduring partial movement thereof but having a portion engaged by saidarmature during the remaining movement thereof.

3. In a relay of the type having an armature, a plurality of sets ofcontact springs, each set comprising at least one relatively fixedcontact spring and one contact sprin movable with respeet thereto, andoperating members associated with said armature for actuating saidspring sets.

7 the combination therewith of means for biasing said operating memberstoward the armature, means engaging said operating member atpredetermined positions in order to limit movement of said memberstoward the armature and to minimize loading of the armature of the relaywhen the relay is de-energized, one of said operating members includingholding means engaging and restraining the movable spring of one of saidsets against its normal bias, said operating members having partsengageable by said armature at different times so that upon partialoperation of said armature said one of said operating members is movedto release said restraint before the other set imposes any substantialload on the armature.

4. In a relay of the type having an armature, a plurality of sets ofcontact springs, each set comprising at least one relatively fixedcontact spring and one contact spring movable with respect thereto, andoperating members associated with said armature for actuating saidspring sets, the combination therewith of means for biasing saidoperatin member toward the armature, means engaging said operatingmembers at predetermined positions in order to limit movement of saidmembers toward the armature and to minimize loading of the armature ofthe relay when the relay is deenergized, one of said operating membersincluding holding means engaging and restraining the movable spring ofone of said sets against it normal bias, said operating members havingparts engageable by said armature at different times so that uponpartial operation of said armature said one of said operating members ismoved to release said restraint before the other set imposes anysubstantial load on the armature, and adjustable means engaging theother of said operating means to determine the unoperated'position ofsaid fixed spring or springs with respect to said movable spring orsprings, respectively.

ANDREW W. VINCENT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 784,052 Kaisling Mar. 7, 1905943,281 Smith Dec. 14, 1909 990,032 Clement Apr. 18, 1911 1,177,768Erickson Apr. 4, 1916 1,880,676 Beck Oct. 4, 1932 1,947,641 BroekhuysenFeb. 20, 1934 1,997,655 Sanford et al Apr. 16, 1935 2,077,091 BranderApr. 13, 1937 2,254,720 Wilcox Sept. 2, 1941 2,279,811 Baker Apr. 14,1942 2,282,687 Vigren et a1. May 12, 1942 2,312,408 Hansen Mar. 2. 19432,327,549 Peek, Jr. Aug. 24, 1943 2,410,136 Vincent Oct. 26, 1946FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 52,701 1, Austria Mar. 11, 1912113,868

Austria Jan. 15, 1929

